First Look: Strange Fellows Brewing

The latest entrant in the local craft beer sweepstakes has finally opened! Strange Fellows Brewing (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) is located on an industrial-feeling stretch of Clark Dr. between Grant and Charles (4 blocks south of Fujiya at Venables). Transit is a bit crap around that area, so I wonder if the beer’s good enough for me to make the effort? Iain Hill makes some great beer (Oud Bruin) but I felt like Yaletown Brewing was holding him back. Hopefully this new place will let him spread his wings more?

We visited Strange Fellows on an extremely rainy Saturday night, so no pics of the outside, just a pic of their sign from the inside! This space used to be a rug warehouse and actually the previous sign was also set at an angle, but it REALLY fits with the attitude of the new place!

View of the bar and growler filling station.

I really dig their “strangeness” but I just can’t get down with this unreadable list… 😛

Looks like instead of writing down what beer you want, you stamp which beer you want onto the tag. Fun! Iain Hill’s wife is the design brains behind the business and everything I saw was whimsical, literary and fun!

Wall of swag.

Even the shape of the handles evoke that “old timey” feeling.

Full view of the brewery while you drink.

Nice space. High quality chairs too.

Disembodied horned goat head commands you to drink! DRINK! DRIIIIIINK!

Plenty more wacky, playful masks.

Now for the beer! Their flights come in four but they were pouring six beers that day, so naturally I had to try them all:

Opening selection runs the gamut from lagers to imperial stouts. In detail:

Jaune Fizzé Helles Lager (5%) – Basically a non-shitty lager. Super clean, crisp, with none of that offensive adjunct macro-lager aroma and flavour. Would be great to knock back during summer when you share a growler with beer newbies.

Jongleur Belgian Style Wit (4.5%) – Not a bad start, but I’d like to see a little more refinement and punching up the flavours in this one in future batches. Wicca actually liked the sip that she tried. A non-beer-drinking food blogger friend who was with us tried this one and said, “sausage casing”. I sputtered, “w-w-whaaat?!” I suggested that maybe it was the association between the spices in the beer and spices used in sausages…but she did say “casing”, so I was at a loss 😀

Talisman West Coast Pale Ale (4.5%) – Already a great pale ale with lots of fruity hop character. Non-beer-drinking food blogger friend even got a glass of this for herself!

The Familiar Brown Ale (4.5%) – It’s a brown ale. It’s the brown shoes of the beer world…often the most boring item out there, but sometimes it just works. That said, I don’t own any brown shoes.

Nocturnum Dark India Pale Ale (6.5%) – This one surprised me. I’m usually on the fence about Black IPAs/Cascadian Dark Ales because I think the dark roastiness of the malts always steamroll over the hops, but in this case the hoppiness really shone though and achieved a sort-of balance with the roastiness. This just might be the beer that makes me appreciate dark IPAs.

Boris Russian Imperial Stout (10%) – A sipper for sure. I got black licorice, then things started getting hazy as I muscled through the rest of the flight. Next time I won’t eat such a huge meal before coming here.

I can’t wait to try their Bière de Guarde and Saison when they’re ready! And I hope Iain whips out his Oud Bruin recipe too (unless Yaletown somehow owns that now?).

Nice tables.

Those barrels look really fresh. The friendly staff didn’t know if anything was in them yet or not.

One thought on “First Look: Strange Fellows Brewing”

I was there on Sat too but in the afternoon, when it was hopping (groan) despite only being their fourth day open. Picked up a small (1 L) growler of the Talisman which we’re going to drink tonight with our traditional Christmas Eve sushi. I tried a sample and it was very tasty, even for a non-beer guy like me. We’ll be back for more!

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2 hours agoby dennisthefoodieE C C L E S C A K E S // I like but don't love sweets and pastries, but I do have a massive respect and fascination with this traditional #EcclesCake by #BlackberryHill at @vanmarkets . ("Eccles" rhymes with "heckles". I might love this mostly cuz I like the way "eccles cakes" rolls off the tongue.) Sweet currant filling and a sturdy flaky crusty pastry covered with sugar crystals, which reminds me of the best possible version of an 80s McDonald's apple pie. That kind of crust. Everything that Blackberry Hill makes is full of rustic charm. It's what

2 days agoby dennisthefoodieG I N J A N I N J A // A sparkly, zingy #GingerBeer by @dickiesginger at Riley Park @vanmarkets this morning. Thanks Stephen for the chat! Nong's Khao Man Gai is my fave chicken rice in the PNW, although it's a Thai take on HCR. That place at Aberdeen is Cafe D'Lite Express. If I find a great Hainanese chicken rice here, I'll be sure to post about it! It's about ALL the elements firing on all cylinders! #ginger#dickiesginger#yvr#vancouver